| SYMPTOM | PROBLEM | CAUSE | Treatment | |
| Soap scum; white deposits in pipes, water heater, kettles | Hard Water |
Calcium and magnesium in water | Cation-exchange water softener |  |
| Abrasive water, residual grit left in sink | Grittiness |
Fine sand or silt | Activated carbon filter, chlorination | |
| Fishy, musty or earthy smell | Odor |
Organic matter, algae | Activated carbon filter, chlorination | |
| Chlorine smell | Chlorination in public or private well | Activated carbon filter on shor | |
|
| Rotten egg, sulfurous smell | Dissolved hydrogen sulfide | Greensand filter | |
|
| Sulfur or iron bacteria | Sulfur start filter | |
||
| Gasoline smell | Leaking underground storage tanks; fuel spills on surface | Activated carbon filter on short-term basis; seek new water supply | |
|
| Chemical odor | Industrial wastes | Activated carbon filter on short-term basis; seek new water supply | |
|
| Green stains on sinks; blue-green cast to water | Acid Water |
Acid or carbon dioxide in water reacting with copper pipes | Install pH neutralizer or filter; make well deeper | |
| Salty or brackish flavor | Taste |
High chloride or magnesium content | Reverse osmosis; distillation; water softener | |
| Metallic taste | Low pH or high metal concentration in water | pH neutralizer; filters | |
|
| Yellowish cast to water; Yellow stains on washable clothes and bathroom fixtures | Yellow Water |
Tannins created from water passing through decaying vegetation | Anion-exchange water softener; activated carbon filter | |
| Brown-red stains on fixtures, dishes and laundry; water turns red when heated, darkens coffee, tea and other beverages | Red Water, Iron Water |
Dissolved iron; water appears clear when first drawn at faucet | Water softener; iron filter | |
| Reddish colored water with particles settling to bottom of a glass | Precipitated iron; water not clear when first drawn at faucet | Greensand filter; water softener | |
|
| Brownish cast to water, no settling of particles; slime in toilet | Iron bacteria | Disinfect well and plumbing with bleach | |
|
| Black stains on fixtures and laundry | Black Water |
Interaction of carbon dioxide or organic matter with manganese | Conditioner | |
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